Butte alum Uyeyama in charge of 49ers' fitness

SANTA CLARA — Former Butte College football player and current San Francisco 49ers head strength and conditioning coach Mark Uyeyama has high standards, both for himself and the players.

He has carefully designed and implemented a conditioning program that caters directly to each player's specific needs.

Whether the aim is to enhance quarterback Colin Kaepernick's arm strength and agility or increase linebacker Aldon Smith's explosive power, the former Roadrunner has made an art of matching players to workout regimens that actualize their potential.

Uyeyama has held every single position known in his field. He steadily worked his way up, going from being a student assistant strength coach at Utah State University in 2000 to being the head strength and conditioning coach at Utah State from 2004-2007. In 2008, he was hired as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the 49ers. Ultimately, he was promoted to the head strength and conditioning coach position in 2011.

Uyeyama took great lengths to watch and learn from the coaches he was under, learning every nuance imaginable to perfect his craft.

"I am very observant to what is going on," Uyeyama said.

This mindset of always being attentive has manifested itself in the way he runs the strength and conditioning program in San Francisco.

"There are no cookie-cutter programs here," Uyeyama said. "What works for one doesn't the other."

Every program is tailored to a specific athlete in order to ensure that the player gains as much as possible from the assigned training regimen. Uyeyama is extremely mindful of the needs of everyone he coaches in order to best construct a beneficial workout for them. He said he always focuses on the positives in a player and strives to "maximize their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses."

For Uyeyama, there is always room to improve. No matter how adept the player may be, Uyeyama believes they can always be even better.

"They (the players) are here for a reason. We identify what that reason is and we want to make that even more of a reason," Uyeyama said. "If you're fast, I want to make you really fast."

Uyeyama said that the health and fitness of the player is the most essential aspect of the game. He broke the components of the game down into three parts: "the physical component, the technical and tactical component, and the psychological component."

Uyeyama is of the opinion that "the physical is the foundation. If you don't have your health, it doesn't matter how good your technique is, if you know the plays, and if you have the right mindset to play."

Laying the groundwork for the physical component depends almost entirely upon Uyeyama's attention to detail.

"We take everything into consideration. Everything that involves the physical preparation of these athletes, we're going to make sure that we have a grasp on that," Uyeyama said. "I look at everything that comes at a physical cost and manage that."

Everything from the conditioning drills to the athlete's nutrition is monitored and tracked, leaving nothing unaccounted for.

Because of Uyeyama's unique approach, the program is constantly evolving and changing.

"There's always going to be some wrinkles and changes based upon the individuals you have on the team, based upon identifying what the strengths are," said Uyeyama.

He went on to say that he doesn't place value on programs that are stagnant and inflexible.

"If your program stays the same, you're chances of getting better are less and less," Uyeyama said.

Even with the ongoing changes to his programs, the one constant for Uyeyama is the pursuit of excellence. That attribute has been Uyeyama's defining characteristic, both in his time at Butte and now in San Francisco.

"There are very high expectations at Butte," Uyeyama said. "That is what is built at Butte. Once you leave there, you're always a part of something."